


It's not the waking, it's the raising

by MilleVisages



Category: Grimm (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen, Juliette is the grimm Nick is the vet, M/M, Multi, no beta we die like men: pumped full of typos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-05-20 17:40:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19381570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MilleVisages/pseuds/MilleVisages
Summary: A what-if prompted by jujubiest. "A silverhardt AU where SOMEHOW Juliette is the Grimm and Nick is the vet." That's is, that's the whole AU.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: This is a completely unplotted WIP. Updates will be irregular and may stop for a long, long time, as I have nothing written past this first chapter. It is, also, unbeta'd. If you decide to read it anyways, have fun!

Juliette was having a bad day. Not as bad, obviously, as the poor girl on the autopsy table, but any day where you had to piece together a maimed body couldn’t be called good by any stretch of the imagination. She exchanged a look with the doctor Harper above her mask, steeled herself with professionalism and opened the body bag.

They were late for lunch, but at least they had put Sylvie Oster back together as much as possible. Juliette volunteered to go get some food, stepping into Portland damp air with gratitude. There was a nice place not too far from the morgue; overpriced, as most of Portland, and full of cops, since they were seated next to the south precinct, but the food was good and the service quick. She walked in, lost in thought. Her mind was full of Sylvie, and the torn, bleeding edge of her limbs. Whoever torn her apart hasn’t been merciful enough to kill her first. Her stomach did the familiar somersault before settling again. Something must has show on her face, because another customer half-stepped away from her. His face seem to shimmer and warp and Juliette rubbed her eyes firmly. Now was not the time to faint from hypoglycemia. She got to the register, picked their sandwiches and turned around to leave when she heard the name of their victim. She stopped, looking over to two men sitting at a small table with their lunch. The one who was talking was a slight philipino man; his companion was a beefy afro-american.  
“… And she was a low risk victim, anyways.”  
Juliette went over to them without thinking.  
“Hello, I couldn’t help but overhear… You’re the detectives working on Sylvie Oster?”  
They looked up to her with blank faces.  
“I assisted the doctor Harper with the autopsy.”  
“Did you?”, said the same man with a tilt of his head. His colleague gave him a sharp look before going back to Juliette.  
“Hey. I’m detective Hank Griffin and this is Detective Drew Wu. Do you know when we will have the report?”  
Juliette bit back a smile at the thought of a Detective Drew. She wouldn’t dare joke about it.  
“Well, we just finished. I came to get lunch,” she lifted up her bag of sandwiches, “so latter this afternoon, at worse tomorrow morning would be my guess.”  
Wu nodded, seemingly mollified.  
“Anything you can tell us right now?”  
“Well…” Juliette shifted on her feet, feeling a little akward. But she was the one who interrupted them after all. She lowered her voice, not wanting anyone to know she was saying anything before the official words was out.  
“It’s kind of weird. Whoever did this is stupidly strong. Looking at her wounds, they pulled her appart by hand.”  
Both men made a face. The detective Wu muttered something that could have been “gee, thanks for that.” The other detective leaned slightly in her direction, also speaking in hushed tones.  
“Was she dead?”  
“No,” Juliette felt her stomach clench again, “She was alive when they started.”  
“You say “they”?”  
“Statistically it’s more probable that it’s a man, but we don’t have definitive proof one way or another.”  
“Okay. Thank you…?”  
“Juliette. Juliette Silverton.”  
She smiled as best as she could and fled back to the morgue.

When she got home that night, a surprise was waiting for her. An Aunt-shaped surprise, sitting on the couch with a lap full of kittens. Nick had brought work home again. He was sitting in the armchair, bottle-feeding yet another kitten.  
“Hey, your aunt is visiting,” he said with a smile. Juliette smiled too.  
“I see that. It’s a nice surprise.”  
Her aunt, Mary, did her best to look sheepish.  
“Oh, I didn’t call? I thought I did.”  
“It’s no big deal,” the redhead told her while coming closer, “I’m happy to see you.”  
“We’re happy to see you,” corrected Nick, even if his big blue eyes were unsure. Juliette bended down to hug her aunt, wrapping her arms around her shoulders, making sure not to squash any furry babies.  
“We need to talk.” Mary voice was a thin whisper, barely louder than the kittens’ meows.  
They bundled the kittens off to Nick and went out to sit on the bench, Juliette’s aunt leaning heavily on her cane and Juliette’s arm.   
“What is it?”  
Mary scoffed.  
“Cancer. Everywhere up my business.”  
“Shit. How… I mean, how are you feeling?”  
“Fine, most days. They got me on palliatives.”  
“… You came to say goodbye.” Juliette kept her voice calm despite the lump in her throat.  
“It was going to happen,” groused the older woman, “If not cancer then something else. But that’s not the only reason I’m here. I need to warn you.”  
Juliette didn’t like her tone. It makes her feel unbalanced and scared, like missing a step in the dark.  
“It’s a bit late to warn me about boys you know,” she finally said, aiming for light banter and landing on the edge of fear.  
“He seem to be a good man.” Mary answered softly.  
“He is.” She didn’t said she loved him, but it hung between them in the cold air.  
“There’s something you need to know, before I’m gone,” started Mary, her eyes on the street below, “Something you’re not going to like but you can’t escape.”  
Juliette licked her lips, her mouth very dry.  
“It’s about the cancer? Should I get regular checkups?”  
Her aunt shook her head.  
“Not cancer. Something else that runs in the family. Did you ever seem something weird, something you can’t explain?”  
“I… No… I don’t think so. Why? Do we have…” she trailed off, looking for the right word, “Is there early onset dementia in the family? Psychosis?”  
Mary shook her head again, her hand gripping her cane tighter.  
“Nothing like that. What you will see won’t be in your head.” She looked at Juliette, her eyes cold and hard, “and if you think it is, you will get yourself, and him, killed or worse.”  
The maimed remains of Sylvie Oster flashed in Juliette mind and she shivered.  
“We should get back in.”  
Mary caught her wrist in a dead grip, her voice low and intense.  
“I know you won’t believe me if you haven’t seen. When I did it knocked me on my ass for a week. I’ll leave the trailer here for you.”  
“Aunt Mary I-”  
“Keep it safe. Read up.”  
“Aunt Mary I don’t understand a word you’re saying!”  
The older woman let go of her niece with a small sigh. She looked tired and worn in the faint light from the house and the street lamps below. She pulled something from under her collar then undid the clasp from the thin chain it hanged of.  
“I know. Take it,” she handed her the pendant, something small but heavy and engraved, “and this, as my dying wish.”  
Juliette tried to talk, but the words seem stuck somewhere between her brain and her mouth. She put the pendant around her neck and tucked it under her shirt, feeling her face grow hot with unshed tears. Her aunt was still staring at her, waiting.  
“Juliette, you need to promise me you’ll do it.”  
The redhead licked her lips, shaking her head.  
“I- Okay, I will. I don’t understand but I will.”  
“Good.”  
Mary relaxed, also slumping back into the bench.  
Then a man stepped into the porch, brandishing a scythe. His face shimmered and warped into something not unlike a squashed boar, with green scaly skin and teeth trusting out of his lower lips. Juliette didn’t think. She half jumped, half staggered back, her hands scrambling behind to get the door. Mary snarled and unsheathed a knife from her cane, catching the blade with her own and pushing back hard enough to make their attacker fall back. Juliette managed to get the door to open and felt frantically for the wooden baseball bat they kept on the side, just in case.  
In case of monster. Her fingers found the handle and wrapped around the grip as she pulled it to her. Mary snarled again, losing ground in front of the curved blade of the scythe. Juliette took an half turn and squared her feet, bringing the bat back in the same movement.  
Then she swung it with all her might. The end of the heavy barrel caught the man right above his strangely pointed ear with a meaty thump, the bone cracking like an eggshell. He let out a gargled cry and fell like a bag of bricks. For one brief moment all Juliette could hear was her own heartbeat high in her ears, then Mary toppled over and the redhead dropped the bat to catch her.  
“Nick!!”  
He came out of the house with his phone in one hand and reaching for her with the other.  
“I called 911. Is she okay? Who is that guy??”  
“I don’t know…”  
Juliette pulled her aunt a little closer to her, checking the man almost unwillingly. His face was human again, and laying in a slowing expanding pool of blood.


	2. Chapter 2

The hospital lights were to harsh and too low at the same time. Juliette was standing in the doorway of her aunt room, hugging herself tightly. She didn’t want Nick to come with her; he had to stay with the kittens anyways. She had already talked to a police officer, but she had warned her that a detective would come around a little later. She had told her to send him to the hospital. And here he was, walking up the corridor. She thought she recognized him.  
“Miss Silverton? Juliette?”  
“You’re Detective… Griffin, is it?”  
He nodded, his face full of concern. He wasn’t faking it, Juliette realized with a small start. This man cared.  
“Are you okay?”  
“I’m fine,” she shook her head, looking over to the silhouette laying on the bed, “He went for my aunt.”  
“Okay. I know you already answered someone else questions, but I have to ask again.”  
“I know. It’s procedure, right?” she smiled, a brief show of teeth between too tight lips. He nodded again, reaching for her but thinking better of it. He took a small notebook and a pen out of his pocket.  
“I won’t take too much of your time. You say he went for you aunt, Mary Silverton, is that right?”  
“Yes.”  
“Do you know if she had any enemies?”  
“I… No, I don’t think so.”  
“Any issues at work?”  
“She’s a librarian.”  
He wrote something down before looking up at her again.  
“Your aunt had a weapon too, if I understand correctly?”  
“Something in her cane. I didn’t know about it,” Juliette bit her lower lips, “I grabbed my baseball bat. We don’t have a gun in the house so…”  
“I understand,” he say softly. Juliette hugged herself tighter, her face feeling hot again.  
“Is he dead? That man?”  
He hesitated, then she saw his shoulders drop just a bit.  
“Yes. Dead on the scene.”  
“Oh my god.”  
The world blurred and nausea roared inside of her. She felt a strong, reassuring hand holding her arm and she reached for that feeling to push away everything else.  
“You should sit down.”  
Juliette shook her head again.  
“I’ll be fine. Just… Give me a minute.”  
She waited, her head bowed, until the floor felt secure under her feet once again. Juliette shifted a little and the detective let go of her arm carefully.  
“I didn’t want to kill him.” She finally said, her voice small.  
“I believe you,” he answered, notebook seemingly forgotten in his hand, “one of your neighbor was walking his dog and saw your aggressor trying to kill your aunt. I’m just squaring everything aways.”  
“I bet you say that to all your suspects,” Juliette mumbled, her voice sounding almost fake. He gave her a half-smile, which was probably more that this attempt at humor deserved.  
“I’ll need you to come to the station to sign your testimony tomorrow. It doesn’t have to be first thing in the morning, alright?”  
“Okay.”  
She turned away from him, staring at her aunt again. He slipped aways without another word. Juliette went to sit nex to Mary, staring without seeing. She knew the visitation hours were over, but no one came to put her out.  
Later that night, as she slowly dozed off, she heard someone come in. She straightened up, seeing a small woman in a labcoat with blond hair and a lot of makeup walking toward her aunt with a needle in her hand. Her blood grew cold and she got up.  
“What are you doing?”  
The woman ignored her. Juliette grabbed her wrist, pulling the needle away from Mary.  
“What is that?!”  
The woman sneered and her face changed, turning into a leathery parody of itself. Juliette gasped, but the shock made her hold on tighter instead of letting go. The woman twisted around like a angry snake, stabbing the redhead with the needle. Juliette felt herself go numb, falling to the floor. The last thing she saw was the high-heels of her attacker stepping away.  
She woke up a couple of hours later, feeling achy and foggy with an IV in her arm. She called for the nearest nurse and learned that she has been poisoned, but that her life wasn’t in danger, and that they would be no consequences on her health. She nodded along until the nurse let her talk then asked for her phone. She called the precinct and asked for the detective Griffin, but it was still to early in the day for him to be in. She swallowed back a bit of panic and did her best to explain the situation to the officer at the other end of the line. They ended up sending a young officer in uniform to look over her aunt, much to her relief. Then she called Nick, and he came with hot tea, take out food and three different colors of cat hairs on his jumper.

Mary didn’t wake up. Later in the morning, Nick darted back to their house, bringing her coffee and a breakfast.  
“You didn’t eat last night.” He quickly looked at Juliette’s aunt, then back to his girlfriend.  
“Did the doctors say anything new?”  
“No,” the redhead held her travel mug but didn’t drink from it, “They still think it’s the exhaustion and stress on top of her cancer…” She lowered her voice, eyes down on her hands, “Nick she’s full of scars. Knifes, mostly.”  
“I thought she was a librarian?”  
“Me too. I don’t understand. She was… Weird, last night.”  
Nick shrugged.  
“Yeah, I got it when you sat outside to talk. I mean I thought she wanted privacy because she was sick but…” He trailed off, grasping for words, “Do you think she has a sort of… double life?”  
“I don’t know. Maybe?” Juliette rubbed her forehead, “I feel like the world turned upside down.”  
“I’m so sorry.” He carefully wrapped his arms around her and she leaned into the hug with a cut-off sob.  
“I killed him.”  
Nick froze but didn’t say anything for a while.  
“He attacked you. He gave you no choice.”  
“I was just defending my aunt.” She whispered against him, shaking lightly. Nick hugged her tighter.  
“I know. You saved her. And you did it again when that fake nurse came in.”  
Juliette wondered for how long, but she didn’t say it out loud. Nick searched for her eyes.  
“You think it’s not over?” he asked, his face scrunched up in worry.  
She didn’t want to think about that, but the possibility was heavy as lead in her stomach.  
“Maybe not.”  
“Did you talk about that with the detective? Wait, of course not. Forget I asked.” He looked away, uncertain. Juliette warped her arms around him.  
“It’s fine. The night shift should fill them in, but you’re right, I need to tell them when I go in.”

She went in, later that morning, feeling uneasy. She made her way to the open space, hoping the nice detective Griffin would be here. Thankfully, his desk was right here when you walked in, and he was sitting here, with his partner next to him. Both were talking to a tall man in a suit who had his back turned to her. Juliette gingerly came closer, holding her purse tight. The detective saw her and lifted his hand to both acknowledge her and tell her to wait, bringing the other two’s attention to her. The conversation stopped and the tall man half turned around, assessing her with cold green eyes. It didn’t soothe her uneasiness one bit. Then detective Griffin smiled at her.  
“Miss Silverton, I’m glad you’re here.”  
“You asked me to come,” pointed out the redhead, a bit defensively. “Sorry, I didn’t get much sleep.”  
“I’ve hear about that,” He exchanged a quick look with the others men, and the detective Wu got up, following the other man to the captain office, “Please take a seat.”  
She sat down in the just vacant chair, putting her purse in her lap.  
“I feel like I’m interrupting.”  
“It’s alright, they can fill me in later. How are feeling?”  
“I’m… Fine, all things considered.”  
Here’s the testimony you gave my colleague in uniform and me before the second incident.”  
He handed her a couple of papers sheets, still fresh from the printer. She took the time to read them carefully before rummaging into her bag for a pen. The detective pulled one out of his desk for her.  
“Everything’s good?”  
“Yeah, I think.”  
She hesitated, looking up up at him.  
“Sorry, I’m just very worried for my aunt. What if they try again?”  
“We’re sending officer Fogel at the hospital to relieve the officer already in, she’ll keep her safe.”  
“Detective, I know that kind of police protection isn’t long term,” Juliette pointed out, despite the little voice in her head telling her that Mary may not need long term anything.  
“Call me Hank, please,” he rubbed his beard pensively, “It’s true. Look, I won’t be the one doing the follow up, be we’ll do our best to find whoever want to hurt your aunt.”  
Juliette swallowed back a sigh and signed her testimony.  
“Thank you.”  
“Just doing our job.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, this speedy update was merely a fluke, I'm out of words again. See ya!


End file.
